Example Career: Loan Officers

Career Description

Evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of commercial, real estate, or credit loans. Advise borrowers on financial status and payment methods. Includes mortgage loan officers and agents, collection analysts, loan servicing officers, loan underwriters, and payday loan officers.

What Job Titles Loan Officers Might Have

• Commercial Loan Officer
• Financial Aid Counselor
• Loan Counselor
• Loan Officer

What Loan Officers Do

• Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process.
• Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans.
• Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval.
• Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services.
• Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation.
• Review loan agreements to ensure that they are complete and accurate according to policy.
• Review and update credit and loan files.
• Obtain and compile copies of loan applicants' credit histories, corporate financial statements, and other financial information.
• Work with clients to identify their financial goals and to find ways of reaching those goals.
• Handle customer complaints and take appropriate action to resolve them.
• Stay abreast of new types of loans and other financial services and products to better meet customers' needs.
• Market bank products to individuals and firms, promoting bank services that may meet customers' needs.
• Analyze potential loan markets and develop referral networks to locate prospects for loans.
• Compute payment schedules.
• Supervise loan personnel.
• Prepare reports to send to customers whose accounts are delinquent, and forward irreconcilable accounts for collector action.
• Set credit policies, credit lines, procedures and standards in conjunction with senior managers.
• Assist in selection of financial award candidates using electronic databases to certify loan eligibility.
• Authorize or sign mail collection letters.
• Calculate amount of debt and funds available to plan methods of payoff and to estimate time for debt liquidation.
• Confer with underwriters to resolve mortgage application problems.
• Contact applicants or creditors to resolve questions about applications or to assist with completion of paperwork.
• Contact borrowers with delinquent accounts to obtain payment in full or to negotiate repayment plans.
• Counsel clients on personal and family financial problems, such as excessive spending or borrowing of funds.
• Establish payment priorities according to credit terms and interest rates to reduce clients' overall costs.
• Inform individuals and groups about the financial assistance available to college or university students.
• Maintain and review account records, updating and recategorizing them according to status changes.
• Match individuals' needs and eligibility with available financial aid programs to provide informed recommendations.
• Review accounts to determine write-offs for collection agencies.
• Review billing for accuracy.

What Loan Officers Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Loan Officers Should Be Interested In

• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

What Loan Officers Need to Learn

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.